GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR Google has announced a new OS verification tool for Android 17.
In addition to looking for on-device red flags, the tool incorporates a verification mode that requires a second device.
While not yet functional, we’re starting to get a look at how this two-device workflow will operate.
Knowing that the software running on your phone is coming from a trusted source is probably the single most important thing you can do to keep your device safe. Google already gives us plenty of tools for keeping on top of that, from Android Verified Boot to Pixel Binary Transparency. Earlier this month, the company shared that it was cooking up a new way for users to verify the integrity of their OS, set to arrive with Android 17. And thanks to yesterday’s release of QPR1 Beta 3, we’re now getting an early look at how that’s taking shape.
Even though tools to verify firmware already exist, actually taking advantage of them has been… complicated, to put it mildly. Unless you were a developer, or a user with particularly acute security concerns, the very manual authentication process probably wasn’t worth your time. But with Android 17’s OS verification screen, Google’s beginning to streamline that process.
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Here’s the new OS verification screen Google’s adding to Android 17:
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